


Split In The Scorch // Newt

by mazerunnerfob



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction, Newt/Oc - Freeform, Running, thominewt cuties, unepxected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-19 19:29:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14879798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mazerunnerfob/pseuds/mazerunnerfob
Summary: Eleanor had finally escaped the Core, and after everything she had been through, she thought it was over. While in the Scorch, she is split from her Core Girls, and had to take things into her own hands....Until she met Group A.





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> yippee it's here!! I'm so happy to bring my story of Eleanor on here, I hope you all too!!!

Barely making the jump to the Griever Hole, Eleanor climbed up onto the ledge and headed toward the door in front of her. It had a large control panel in the shape of a circle, designed like a maze. _You're kidding, they seriously did that_ , Eleanor thought to herself and rolled her eyes. While she examined the panel, she heard another girl jump onto the ledge behind her, screaming as she landed face first. The sound of the impact made Eleanor snap around and rush to the girl's side.

"You okay?" Eleanor asked, helping her up. "I'm okay. Didn't expect the jump to be farther than I thought." The little girl, Lilly, responded.

The two girls then walked back to the panel and glanced over the controls looking to see where to put the code. Eleanor, knowing that she forgets things easily sometimes, forgot the code.

"What was the code?! " Eleanor screamed up to the top of the cliff.

"FLOAT, CATCH, BLEED, DEATH, STIFF, PUSH!" another girl, Harriet, said from above, followed by a loud clang of a weapon hitting the metal on one of the Killers above. 

She typed in the code, noticing that PUSH couldn't fit on the device. _Come on_ , she thought, typing in the password again. She tried again. And again. And again. Eleanor was beyond frustrated by the 5th time she tried. "Wait, look!" Lilly said next to her, pointing to a button that had the words "Kill the Maze" inscribed on it. She looked for approval from her leader before pushing the button. The loud sounds from above began to die out and the only sounds left were the Core Girls sighs and their feet landing on the ledge near the door. Harriet one of the last girls to come down to the Hole, went through the crowd to Eleanor and Lilly and stared into the darkness. 

"How many left?" Eleanor asked.

"Thirty-two," Harriet said, a sigh escaping her and glancing back to the door.

"Well I guess this is it, ladies," Eleanor said toward the girls, "let's get out of this hellhole once and for all," and she walked into the doorway.

Leaving the Core wasn't how they thought. Elle walked into the doorway and immediately slipped. She went straight into a slide. "Guys look out!" Eleanor said over her shoulder, although she knew afterward that it was too late. She heard the Girls screams and chants from above as they slid down the slide. It seemed to go on and on for what seemed like an eternity to Eleanor. She soon met the floor landing on her stomach. She groaned trying to get her body up, but she was brought back down when Lilly came in from behind and fell on top of her.

"Sorry," Lilly said, getting off of Eleanor.

Once all of the last of the Girls came down the slide, they explored the area around them. They were in some kind of computer lab, including control panels and screens. The room was pretty big, it had a couple chairs near the panels and a big table off to the side which didn't seem to be in use.When Eleanor was looking at one of the smaller screen panels, she quickly realized that it showed the overhead view of the Core. 

"What-" she started, but couldn't finish. "They were watching us the whole time." Said Sonya behind her when she came closer to the screens. 

The two girls couldn't believe their eyes. The Core Girls knew about the Blazers, the bugs that were all around the Core and the Maze with cameras and sharp blades and watched basically their every move. But the Girls didn't know for sure if there were _actual_ people on the other sides of those cameras. Sonya and Eleanor continued to observe on the panels until Harriet clicked on a button from the control panel that brought up a video on a larger screen. 

"Hello," the voice said, causing some of the Girls to jump and bring their attention to the video. It showed an older woman who wore all white and her hair was up in a bun. "My name is Dr. Ava Paige, director of the  _World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department_. If you are watching this, then you have successfully completed the Maze Trials..." she said. _What the hell was the Maze Trials?_ Elle thought. 

"I can assure you that everything that's happened to you, everything we've done to you, it was all done for a reason," Dr. Ava Paige said, making Eleanor's fists clench, "You won't remember, but the sun has scored our world, billions of lives lost to fire...the fall out was unimaginable....we called it the Flare, a deadly virus that infects the brain, and incurable. But suddenly, we figured out that there are those who could survive the virus, and now, there is a reason to find a cure, but it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed, to help find this cure. So this has to be done to see what makes them different, what makes you different. You may not realize it, but you are very important," she paused, and then said "Unfortunately, your Trails have just begun...This may be over for us, but not for you," The doctor paused again pointing a gun to her head before saying one final thing, "Just remember, WICKED is good," and the gun was fired.

Right after the video shut off, silence entered the room for a couple of seconds before mummers of conversations began to rise. Eleanor was still trying to process everything that had been told to her to notice the sounds around her. She was in a maze... for three years...while a virus was taking over the world. _A DAMN MAZE._ Eleanor couldn't take it. _Why would they do this to us? They did put us in a maze for a reason, an actual reason. But will my friends get hurt, I don't know? Are we seriously going to get sacrificed just for a cure?_ Eleanor was full of disgust, fear, confused, anger,  all of it. She began to clench and unclench her hands for a minute, letting her steam out that way. Elle then felt a tug on her arm from Lilly that brought her out of her thoughts.

"Elle? What's going to happen to us?" she asked. Her expression was full of worry and fear. Lilly was only around 12 or 13 years old, so it made Elle feel worse for her thinking that Lilly didn't deserve to go through any of the things they experienced already.

"I don't know Lilly, but we'll figure it out soon, don't worry." Eleanor reassured her and gave a sympathetic smile. She looked up and glanced the room, watching the other girls in conversation.

Her gaze stopped when she reached Rachel, one of the Freshies that came in the Core this month. She stood by Aris, the first boy to ever come into the Core, who came a couple days after Rachel. The looks on both of their faces were confused and frustrated. They badly wanted to figure out what to do as much as Elle did. Though most of the Core Girls didn't like them, or they only despised Aris, since he was the only boy; Eleanor trusted them though, even with all the events that occurred within the last couple of days.

A loud bang came from the entryway to the hall followed by a young women walking into the room wearing all white with  WICKED in black lettering on her shirt. By the time she approached the Girls, another person came and stood next to her with a bag over their head. The Girls were speechless, they didn't know what to say first. _Can we trust her?_ Elle mouthed to Harriet. She shrugged in response, but her expression of worry showed otherwise. 

"Hello, girls. Congratulations again on finishes the Maze Trials." she said giving a smile, "This many girls survived, phenomenal." The women stayed silent for a moment. She was just about to speak again until Elle cut her off. 

"What the hell do you want?" Eleanor spoke up, clenching her fists again to the point of turning white.

The women said nothing. She turned to the person next to her and took off the bag from their head. It was Fiona.

"Fiona?!" Rachel asked. "What is she doing here?" Sonya said.

Questions arose in the room, wondering why she was here and living. When the Killers attacked the Core one day, Fiona at the time was crazy from being stung and the fact that Aris and Rachel came within the same week. So she decided to climb onto one of the Killers and went away into the Maze. The Girls didn't know what happened to her afterward, whether she was dead or alive. 

She tried to speak, but couldn't. Instead, the women spoke for her. "Remember ladies, you are safe. You need to trust me that everything happens for a reason. And so, this girl was only a variable of the Maze Trials, the final variable." Questioned looks were shown on all of the Girls' faces. They all gazed at Fiona seeing if she would say anything to what the women had said.

"Fiona?" Elle asked, "what's happening?"

"I-I can't...they...c-can...control...I'm sorry..." Fiona pulled out a dagger from her pocket and threw it at Eleanor. She braced for impact and prepared herself to scream, but the scream she heard wasn't from her. This time, it was Lilly.

"Lilly! No Lilly!" Eleanor screamed, holding Lilly's body and she fell to the floor. "Lilly! Lilly!" Elle said, still holding Lilly. She was breathing hard and extensively shaking. Eleanor began to cry tears down her face. "Lilly stay with me, please!" She pleaded. She had to make it, to see her family, to be happy. Eleanor could not let Lilly leave her like this. "Elle..." Lilly choked out, grabbing Eleanor's arm. "I'm here Lilly, I'm here. Just stay with me." Eleanor said. Tears continued to flow from her eyes. Lilly gave Elle her figurine, the only thing she had left of her past life, and said "Eleanor...thank..you..." Her eyes went black and her breathing stopped. Her soul going along with it. All that was left of her was her lifeless body. "LILLY! LILLY!" Eleanor screamed. She laid on top of Lilly, sobbing into her chest, and attempting to shake her awake again.

The other Core Girls were heartbroken. Some stood in shock. Others were crying alone or embraced in one another. They all stood around Eleanor watching her cry, giving her some space. No one said a word after the last time Elle said Lilly's name.

Back in the Core, Lilly was the light to other girls. She was shy at first, couldn't do most of the jobs, but she able to bring life and fun into the Core. She was the friend of everyone, _well_ besides Fiona, she was sort of terrified of her at times. The reason in why the death of Lilly was the hardest for Eleanor, was because she was one of her best friends. When Lilly first arrived, she clung to Eleanor, although Eleanor was annoyed having someone on her tail. After a couple days she warmed up to her. Lilly was soon able to find some new friends to talk to when Elle was working. Lilly did find a job, a Cleaner, one of the worst jobs in the Core, but she was able to make it not so crappy once she got used to it. She made the worst job, the best one for herself.

Many minutes passed of silence between the girls. Eleanor had finally stopped crying, but she still held on to Lilly's body. Getting herself together, she broke apart from lifeless body, still holding the wooden figurine that Lilly gave to her, Elle stood up and started at Fiona. She had the urge to go and punch her and beat her till her last breath, but she couldn't do it because she didn't have much energy anymore. Instead, she put the figurine in her pocket, grabbed the spear next to her from the floor, and whispered, "I'm sorry too," before using the last of her energy throwing the spear at Fiona's chest. Fiona fell to the floor, spear impaled in her chest. Elle immediately fell too, realizing what she had just done. She knew that she had do it, to protect her friends, but it hurt to lose someone that was completely different a year ago. 

Elle was broken and tired, nausea filling her body. She began to crawl to Lilly and away from Fiona, but stopped short a couple times when the nausea hit a high peak. Some of the girls went to Elle's side, helping her to her destination. The rest stared at Fiona, then at Elle, and back to Fiona. 

A gunshot brought the attention from Fiona and Eleanor to the woman's sudden lifeless body lying on the floor, blood seeping through her shirt. Multiple people starting to come in and taking the Girls away into the hallway. Fiona on the watched the Girls were being taken away one by one, leaving her in the dust. Eleanor was one of the last Core Girls to leave. Before leaving she gave Lilly one last hug before she was pulled away by Sonya and Rachel.

They were put in a helicopter, flying away from the building they were just in. Eleanor sat with her back against some boxes, holding the figurine again in her hand. She looked up to see Harriet, who was her second in command, in front of her. She was afraid and upset, which was never shown by Harriet. She always showed that she was strong. 

When they lost Cara, their original leader, they had to put someone in first in command, before things would go out of control. The Girls had voted that either Harriet or Eleanor be first in command. Though Harriet knew that she had the strength, she knew that Eleanor was the better leader. She was able to control the girls in a way to be able to trust her and follow her lead. So Elle was chosen for first in command, and Harriet was for second.

Harriet tried to give Elle a sympathetic smile, but it just turned into a weak one. Elle turned her head back down then focused on the figurine again, moving her fingers along it, remember little moments with Lilly and the other girls. Soon after, the helicopter landed, and the Core Girls were drawn out and told to run toward the building in front of them. 

When the got inside, chaos was around them. Eleanor spun around looking in all directions, watching people in uniform with weird guns in their hands. It had the look of a warehouse, steel bars on the ceiling, boxes everywhere. One of uniformed people came up to the Girls and brought them into a random room. It was filled with a table full of food. Mani, another Core Girl, called out, "Dibs on the chicken!" and the Girls ran toward the table, eating as much as they could. Laughs and smiles were shared, even from Eleanor. While the Girls were letting all the food sink in, a man opened the door.

"Hello, ladies." he said, "Sorry about all of the commotion, we had ourselves a bit of trouble."

"Who are you?" Harriet asked. "I'm the reason you are still alive. And I intend to keep it that way." he responded, "you can call me Mr. Janson, and now follow me and we can get you guys settled."  _He looks like a rat_ , Elle thought, chuckling to herself. 

As they walked, Janson began to explain, "This place is like a sanctuary, safe from the outside world. It's all desert or what we call, the Scorch. Consider this place your home between homes, since there isn't much left of where you came from. We do have a place for you, protected from WICKED, so that they will _never_  find you again. How does that sound?" He asked. The Girls said nothing in response, just blank and confused stares. 

"Why are you helping us?" Elle asked, curious of the Rat Man. 

"Let's just say the world out there isn't at the most greatest point, so we're all hanging on by a thin thread. The fact you kids can survive the Flare, makes you the greatest chance for continued survival. Unfortunately, it makes you a target, a target of WICKED." He approached a large hatch, swiping a card into the scanner. He turns back to the Girls as the door opens. "Now, beyond this door is beginning of your new lives. So let's start by getting rid of that smell." 

The Girls were sent to the showers, which was one of the best things the Girls have ever had, besides the food of course. Elle got to see what she looked like in years. She has been described from other people, but not herself since there were no mirrors in the Core. Went she finished her shower and got dressed, she was able to look in the mirror. She had wavy brown hair flowing just above her shoulders. She was tall, but not too tall. She was wearing a gray long-sleeve shirt with leggings. 

"Are you in shock too?" a voice came in from behind in the large bathroom, Mani. "Uh-I...Yeah." She said. "I was too when I first saw myself. I couldn't believe it either." She gave her a pat on the shoulder and said, " I'll see you later Elle." and left Eleanor in the bathroom. 

~~~~

The Girls were then sent to the medical wing following their showers. They were each given medical exams and blood tests. They all had their own doctor who examined them, but in different ways. Rachel was currently on the treadmill while Elle was getting blood drawn from her right arm. They had no idea why there were doing this, but they followed along because they had no other choice anymore. They were safe, for real this time.

The Girls finished their exams and tests and were sent to their dorms. Eleanor, Harriet, Sonya, Rachel, and a couple other girls were in one of the rooms. The dorms had about 6 bunk beds, 3 on each side of the room. Each bed had covers, sheets, pillows, everything the Girls never thought they would have in a long time.

"Ah, we made it," Sonya said. She reached a bunk and jumped on the top one. 

"I can't believe it," Rachel added.

"Me either," Eleanor whispered. Eleanor was tired, very tired, and before sleep took over her, Harriet came and sat on the side of her bunk.

"Hey." she said, "I'm sorry about what happened to Lilly, I know how much you meant to her." she paused, thinking about what to say next, "tomorrow we'll have a Calling, figure out what is going on with this place, and plan out our next move. Is that alright with you?" She finished, waiting for Eleanor's response. Elle nodded, giving her a slight smile. Harriet left the bunk and went to her own.

Eleanor was left alone to her thoughts. She couldn't believe what she saw, what she heard, what she experienced. Lilly, Fiona, the Killers, everything. It seemed unreal. After 3 years of being in the Core, she never thought it end like this. She wanted to get everyone out, though it was wasn't possible. The Girls that lost their lives fighting so that the rest could be free and happy. Elle just hopes that they are too up there. Even Lilly. 

After a while, Elle could tell that she was only one awake, so she decided that she should at least _try_  and get some rest for tomorrow. She mentally prayed to herself, hoping that the Calling would go well the next day, and then went to sleep.


	2. chapter 1

Eleanor woke up to the sounds of chairs and bunks moving around the room. She sat up, groaning as she brought her hand to her pounding head before bringing her head back down to the pillow. She watched the Girls move the chairs around into a circle, leaving space to walk around.  
"Glad you're awake," said Mani with a smile. She was moving some of the chairs to fit the circle. Elle swung her legs over to the side of the bed and placed her hands on her knees. She remembered what was told by Harriet last night. _The Calling._ She sighed, getting up from her bed and moving toward some of the Girls, wiping her eyes in the process.

"Hey, once we get everything set up, we're going to go eat, then have the Calling. Sound good?" Harriet asked. Elle nodded in response. She helped get the rest of the chairs together, making sure everything looked right, before heading out the door to the cafeteria. She had short conversations with some of the Girls, making sure she was alright after the night prior. Eleanor was okay with that. Though she was in grief, she knew she had to put it behind for a little bit. _Focus on the present, not the past. Just remember that._

The Girls got their food and sat down at a long table. The room was huge, large ones all around the room. Different conversations filled the room, including the Girls. Some ate in silence, letting the sight of food take over, including Elle, but her's was interrupted when Sonya brought up something. "So what do you guys think of this overall place?" Sonya asked to the Girls around her. "I honestly have no clue. The only thing really confusing is the Rat Man that brought us in." Rachel responded. Murmurs of "yeahs" and "oh right that guy" came into context. Their talk was interrupted when, of course, Rat Man came into the room with a clipboard.

"Hello, to those who don't know me, my name is Mr. Janson," _Or Rat Man. I like that one better._ "and I am here to call back a couple kids." He says and begins to call the names. "Julia, Robert, Lina, Polly, Joseph, George, and...Tiana" _Wait Tiana? Going with Rat Man? No thanks._ All of the Girls looked straight toward her. Tiana looked confused. She had no idea what to do besides get up and walk toward the man up front. Elle, worried for her friend, got up and ran to Tiana. "You know you don't have to go right? None of us don't completely trust this man." She said, voice shaking partially as she spoke. "Elle don't worry about me, some of the other girls I met said it's like a 'safe haven'. So maybe this could be one." She said. "But-" Elle started, but was interrupted. "Tiana? You need to come now." The Rat Man said. "Just trust me, okay?" She said, giving Elle a hug before walking away to the line of kids behind Rat Man. "That is all today, thank you." Rat Man finished and left with the group of kids.

"I don't trust that man one bit." Elle said right when she sat down. Most of the Girls around her didn't expect to hear much of her until the Calling, or not at all the whole day. It was surprising for Eleanor too. She thought she would be in grief longer, but she knew that there was something else to do that grieve. There was silence for a minute, but Aris spoke up. "I don't either, but that 'safe haven' doesn't sound much like a safe place." He said. "Well I guess we should get to that Calling them?" Elle asked with a smirk. The Girls and Aris smiled at her, knowing that their leader was back. They got up, threw out their trash, and walked out. Elle held her head high. She had something now to distract herself. Her grief was still there, just not visible. They walked up to the door, giving a look to the guard that indictable that they just wanted to go back to the room. It surprisingly worked to Elle's belief.

Once all of the Girls made it back to the room, the Calling began. "Okay guys, let's get started." Harriet said, "So we all know what happened last night, but we aren't going to talk about that now. It happened, it's over, let's move on. Got it?" They all nodded. Elle knew that Harriet was still hurt, but it was only noticeable to her. "Eleanor, take it away."

"Ladies and Aris, since the minute we got here, things were suspicious. I don't know what Rat Man is up to, but we gotta figure it out. Just like Harriet said, things are in the past, let's leave it there. Now, I'm open to all ideas, but they have to be reasonable. The 'safe haven' that everyone is talking about, doesn't seem like one if they are only taking a couple kids at a time. It doesn't sound right. So that's my opinion, and I want to hear yours. We'll start with Harriet, go down the line to Sonya, and so on. You say what you have to say, no interruptions, nothing. Let's just hear what everyone has to say, their thoughts on what do next, what they think about this place, anything. When everyone is finished, we'll discuss the best one's possible and go from there. Harriet, you're up."

She took a deep breathe, and said, "I feel like once we figure out what the hell is going on here, we need to get out. I don't think it's safe for us here, even though they say so." Elle wrote her notes down on a notepad she found in another dorm. Sonya went next. "I agree with Harriet. I mean, it sort of sounds safe, considering they gave us food, water, new clothes, and an actual bed. Some of us never had that in a long time. But when they took Tiana away, she seemed so convinced that everything was going to be okay. She told me last night that she was scared. She wanted to be safe and leave this place. And now? She felt like it was okay to leave us behind and go with Rat Man. It doesn't make sense." She sighed as she finished, queuing the next person to go. A few nods went her way, taking in what she said. "I think we are safe to stay. I may be confused with Mr. Janson's actions, but like Sonya said, we got everything we hadn't had in years." Mani said.

By the time that everyone spoke their ideas, Eleanor had a full two pages worth of ideas. "So now that we have heard everyone, let's figure out a next step. We know there is fine line between leaving and staying and you can make your own choice into which, but we need a good reason for both." Elle went through the pros and cons of leaving and staying.

"Hey Eleanor?" Aris asked, bringing the attention from to him, "I might have an idea. You know how Rat Man brought those kids out, but we never saw where they went? Why not after the last meal time of the day tomorrow, I'll sneak through the vents. I can see where they took them. This could be our chance to figure out what happened to Tiana."

"That sounds like a good idea, is everyone in?" Eleanor asked. They all nodded with a couple "yes" here and there. "Then that's our next step."

~~~~

The group skipped lunch. They were too lost into their plan to notice that it was lunch time. When they noticed it dinner was served, they practically ran out the dorm room. The cafeteria was full of loud chatter, as expected. Eleanor was antsy to get their plan into action. They wanted to know what was going on. They were mid-way into their meal when Rat Man approached with his clipboard. "Well here we go again." said Mani.

"Hello again, you know the drill, I'll call the names, you come with me. Simple as that." Mr. Janson said. "Tony, Brent, Kia, Zack,Olivia..." Elle began to tune him out, though she watched some of her Core friends leave her. "And last but not least, Rachel." Eleanor panicked. She had just gotten close to her, and now she leaving?? Elle couldn't do that. It was different than with Tiana.

It was easy to tell that Rachel was nervous, just like Tiana. She wanted to stay with the Girls, with Aris. Rachel had to stay strong, though she didn't know if she would see him again.

Before Elle could do anything, Aris had already stood up. "Woah hold up. You are not taking her." Aris said standing in front of Rachel, holding her back. "Hey, sorry kid, but she has to come with us." said Janson. He refused trying to bring her back, but two other guards pulled them back. "Okay okay. Let me just say goodbye first." He went to turn to Rachel, but then was stopped, again. "Kid, we have to leave." He nodded to the guards pulling Aris away. Eleanor had went to the group grabbing Aris from the guards. "Rachel, everything will be okay, I promise." It was the last thing he said before collapsing in Elle's arms. He watched Rachel being pushed out, the kids going with her with whispering, asking her who the boy was.

"Now, go back to your seats." Janson said. Just as they turned away, Janson put a hand on Eleanor's shoulder. "Keep an eye on that kid, would you?" He released his hand and pushed her toward the table.

The table was silent for the rest of the lunch. Out of all people, they didn't expect Rachel to leave. This made Aris want to know more about why they took them. He had to have her back. She was his best friend.

~~~~

Elle tied was busy her shoes when she heard the vent latch open. Aris crawled out and stood up. "Hey guys. Eleanor, are you ready?" He asked. "Yep, let's go. Harriet you'll keep watch of the vent, Sonya you got the door. Everyone else, you have the option of staying up or going to bed. See you guys in a bit." Eleanor followed Aris into the vent. They went around the vents for about 20 minutes before finding an opening  of the right area below. They were able to find a loose map of the vents during their planning so they knew where to go. Aris moved the latch open and hoped down. Elle followed and immediately saw the giant sign in which they saw from the vents, it said 'HALLWAY PERMITTED FOR REGULAR EMPLOYEES AND CHILDREN'. They walked up and down the hallway, looking through the windows to the rooms. As Aris and Elle were looking through one of the rooms, they heard footsteps around the corner. "Quick hide!" Said Elle and ran down another hallway. They looked back toward the previous hallway, watching a doctor opening a door to a room, which was followed by multiple tables that had bodies inside of them. "Rachel." Aris whispered and pointed to the one cart that had her name on the side of it. They watched the carts being brought into the room, one by one. She saw a bunch of letters on a cart, but she couldn't tell what it said, so she ignored it. "Well, it wasn't a safe haven then. I guess." Eleanor said. Once the carts were away, the two ran back to the vent they came in, and went back to their room.

They rushed back through the vents to Elle's room, making a loud noise when Eleanor opened the vent to the room. "Elle!" said Mani. Elle came in and sat on her bed. She was still in shock from what she saw. Aris stayed standing and had tears running down his eyes. "Aris? What happened?" Sonya asked, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Eleanor? Talk to us." Harriet said, sitting down on the bed next to her. "They had them inside of these c-carts. I had no idea if they were alive or not, but they were in there. And then we saw a cart that had Rachel's name on it." Elle paused, looking up toward the Girls in the room, "It's WICKED." Elle whispered. "What?" Harriet asked. "Shit, it's WICKED. Aris that's what I saw on that cart. I didn't say it to you, but I remember seeing it on the cart cause I couldn't read it. Now that I recall it again it clicked." Elle said, louder this time. Harriet sighed and said, "Well, we better have a Calling or else we are never getting out of here."

~~~~

Since it was close to 5 am, Harriet, Elle and Aris went to the other Core Girls' rooms to tell them there has been an emergency group Calling and to follow them toward their main dorm. There wasn't enough time to bring chairs out so they just sat on the bunks or on the floor.

"Sorry it's so early, but Aris and I have found some news in the vents that we had to tell you all immediately. We found carts, not just regular carts, but carts that had bodies of the kids that were called either, including Rachel. I assume that Tiana is already in there, but we can't change that anymore sadly. I think now that I've seen that, I want to get out of this place once and for all. You can choose to stay, not believe me, may think I'm talking crap, but I'm getting the hell out of here as soon as possible. I'm leaving in 30 minutes. I know we haven't had this in a long time, but I can't stay here. Whether it's WICKED or not, which I know it is. I'm leaving. Choose as you wish. If you want to come along, meet me here in 30. That's it for now. This Calling is dismissed." Eleanor finished.

25 minutes past. The room was filled with at least 20 out of the 32 girls. They gathered all of the food they had, wrapping it in sheets. Saying their goodbyes to their friends who were staying. Elle was finishing her bag when Aris approached her from behind.

"Eleanor?" He asked. Elle turned around to see him with tears in his eyes. "You know you don't have to stay." She said. "I know, but I want to get her back, somehow. I feel like I should stay for her. I care about her." He said, looking down toward the ground as tears fell. "You'll be okay. They probably won't take you because of what happened." Elle chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Just be careful out there, you don't know what else is out there besides sand." He said, showing a slight smile. "I will, don't worry. Take care of the Girls staying for me. And take care for yourself too. I'll see you again. " She smiled back and hugged him. She broke away and grabbed her bag putting it on her shoulder. She moved toward the vent and opened it.

"Alright, those who are coming, come along with me. To those who are staying, I love you all so much, and I'm sure I will see you again." She looked around the room and then stopping at Aris who was still crying. She gave him a slight smile and then headed into the vent.


	3. chapter two

She crawled through the vents with the twenty other girls following her from behind. They were headed to the closest vent opening that was near the exit. _This is it, I can't believe it._ She thought.

"Shhhh," Eleanor said to the girls behind her.

They went through the vents for another minute then approached the opening. Eleanor opened the vent latch, pushed it open and went out.

"Come on guys, let's go." She whispered as she helped the Girls. Just as everyone was out of the vent, sirens blared the building. The Girls help their hands up to their heads, trying to block the sounds. "Where to next?" Harriet yelled through the sirens. Eleanor looked up and down the hallway, "this way!" she said and ran down the hallway. The Girls following her closely behind. _Left, right, left, left, right, right again, left_. She ran through the building, remembering the way to go from Aris' plan. He snuck out by himself to find the exit of the building. Though he stayed back, he wanted to make sure they got out anyway.

 _Last left. Then the door._ Elle made the last turn but ran into an unexpected visitor. "Now where do you think you're going? We had something for you," Janson says and brings his attention to the vials on a tray next to him, "though it seems like won't be happening anytime soon in your eyes. But this needs to happen." nods toward the guards near him, which rushed straight to the Girls.

Harriet ran up ahead of Eleanor and punch one of the guards and grabbed a launcher. "Elle catch!" She tossed the launcher to her, holding another guard. The Girls decided to join in as well.

"Woah! Listen, we don't hurt you, this is the best for all of us. So put the launcher down, and head back to your rooms." He said slowly approaching them. "You really think we're going to listen to you? You're fu-finching WICKED! So you should be the ones to move out of the way." _And give us your damn card too._

Eleanor shot two of the men next to Janson. "Stand your guard! Hold fire!" Janson and the rest of the guards began to back up toward the garage looking door. "You know we aren't going to let you through this door. "

"Well, you know that I'm not going to go with you. How about that?" Elle snapped back to him. She held the launcher close to her body, ready to fire again at Janson and his "guards."

"Elle?" Mani asked, "what are you doing?" "I have a plan...just go along with it." She reassured her.

Eleanor stepped forward, readjusting the launcher in her arms. As planned, she heard a grunt and a loud bang come from behind the group seconds later. "Hell yeah." The girl said. She was out of view from the group, toward the hallway they had just come from. She walks back to the group holding a hand grenade that creates the explosion of a taser, and an ID card. _Yes, she did it. I knew I could count on her._ The girl walks through the group of Girls to Elle and Harriet. "Thanks, Sonya." She handed Elle the card and Harriet the grenade. Harriet tightened her grip on the grenade and started to back up. "Guys follow me," she whispered. Harriet slowly leads the group to the beginning of the hallway, leaving Janson and his men alone at the door.

"Well, what are you doing? Follow them!" He commanded. The Core Girls ran in the opposite direction splitting up halfway. One half ran down one hallway, the other ran in the other. They were able to create some distance between the guards and the group to give them the opportunity they needed. "We're almost there!" Elle said to her group. Harriet had the other. They eventually met up at their destination, hiding in the hallway perpendicular to the ones they came from. The Girls hid further into the hallway so they wouldn't get hit. When the guards came into a group, Harriet took her chance and threw the grenade and the guards. They all fell to the ground, shaking rapidly as they laid there.

"Let's go!!" Eleanor said and the ran together back to the door. _Thank goodness he's not here._ The Core Girls ran as fast as the could to the door. "Shit, shit, shit. Why isn't it opening?" Asked Sonya. She tried swiping the guard multiple times, but the card read kept denying it.

"I'm not letting you get away with this, ladies." A voice said randomly which made the Girls jump. _Janson... you're kidding._

"Stay back, I got this," Elle said, and adjusted her launcher and began to shoot. Janson, who apparently brought more guards out of nowhere, slowly walked toward her. "Elle! Get back!" The Girls screamed.

"Just get the card to work!"

The group kept trying, though Elle was running out of ammo. "Hurry!" Elle said. She continued to fire the launcher and walked back to the door. The distance between Janson and Eleanor began to come close.

"Eleanor we got it come on!" Harriet screamed and went through the door. Eleanor, leaving no choice whether there was ammo or not, she threw the launcher at the guards and surprisingly hit on target since the distance was close. She turned around and ran straight for the door. And of course, Janson followed. However, the door began the close. "Run Eleanor run!" _You got this, just run._ Elle ran to almost her full potential and made it when the door was half closed. She ducked her head and ran under the door. She stood up breathing hard and turned to face the closed door. Janson was on the other side, banging his hand on the door. Sonya found a metal container and smashed it into the control pad, disconnecting the door.

"Guys let's go!" Said Sonya. She and Harriet began to move the Girls out. Elle started at Janson, giving him a blank face, and the middle finger. Another girl pulled Eleanor back and they both followed the group, out of WICKED.

~~~~

The continued out of the building and into the Scorch. They ran until they were out of sight of WICKED and their helicopters. They managed to lay on the side of a sand dune about 1 mile away from the headquarters. The Girls had to go as far as possible without being seen. They couldn't let this plan go to waste.

"Okay, I think we're in the clear. I know it's a lot, but do you think you guys can go another half mile, just to see if we can find any shelter?" Elle said the group.

Her responses were nods, a couple "yes" and a lot of groans. "I'm tired too, I want to make sure you guys are safe." She glanced above to the building, noticing that WICKED was still searching.

"Move out!" She whispered, motioning the girls down the dune.

The Core Girls ran for another half mile to only find no shelter what so ever. Sunrise was coming, so it seemed it wasn't best to run in the scorching heat. It was just best to run at night.

"You can open up your sheets, use that as a blanket. We'll go searching again later in the day." Harriet said to the Girls.

Eleanor was grateful that Harriet told them to rest. She was beyond tired from all of the planning and running. She wasn't a runner back in the Core, so it wasn't her strong suit. She hoped to find shelter later in the day. It would be better off than sleeping on the sand. Elle finally pushed her thoughts away and went to sleep.

~~~~

Eleanor jolted up to the sounds of the wind. A gust of sand hit her face that altered her sight of the actions around her. Only 5 girls were awake and trying to wake up the others. She sat up, noticing that her pack and her sheet were missing. _It must have gone with the wind._ She sighed, standing up and helping wake up the other girls.

"Guys get up! Harriet, Sonya, Mani!"

"Elle, what's going on?" Sonya asked. Elle didn't respond. Instead, she looks up at the sky, realizing that it wasn't just an ordinary sandstorm. It was going to rain.

"Elle!" Sonya was shaking Eleanor out of her thoughts and brought her attention back to Sonya.

"We gotta go, now." She helped Sonya up and saw that the all of the Core Girls were finally awake.

"Everyone just follow me! We have to find shelter and fast!" And Eleanor took off running. Some of the Girls didn't know what she was doing since they couldn't hear her, but they followed. They ran for 2 miles before stopping. Eleanor found nothing in those two miles.

"Eleanor. What the hell are you doing?" Harriet said catching her breath.

"Don't you see the storm coming? We have to get out of the open and find somewhere to keep everyone safe." She said, moving her hair out of her face.

"But, Elle, we've run for 2 miles, and we're pretty far from the headquarters. What else is there besides dirt?" She put her hands on her hips staring straight at Eleanor.

"There has to be a place. I need there to be. I don't want to risk anything. If we need to run, then we will."

"Ugh guys," Sonya said pointing toward the moving figure.

 _A tornado_. "Shit, okay, now we gotta run." Harriet automatically agreeing with Eleanor. The group boosted off running away from the tornado. It was moving at a faster pace then the Girls were, moving in the direction of the group. Eleanor pumped her arms as much as she could, trying not to get pushed back by the wind. They were running against the wind, so Eleanor's face and body were covered with sand. She tried to move it out of her face, but it was no use.

"Keep going!!" Elle screamed, hoping it was worth getting sand in her mouth. Another girl that she couldn't clarify the voice of screamed something back to her, but Elle couldn't tell what she said. So she kept running.

The winds got so strong that Eleanor couldn't see anything. She knew Harriet was by her side because she had felt her presence before, but now she didn't know where she was. Eleanor just kept running. She turned around to see if anyone was there, but all she got was more sand in her face. Eleanor sighed, tears filling her eyes knowing she had lost everyone Core Girl she knew, and tried to find some kind of shelter.

She ran for another 3 miles until she found an old, rustic building. It seemed to have two floors, one above and one underneath from Elle's viewpoint. She walked into the building, grateful for the freedom of the shelter. The lightning had stopped about a half hour before she found the building, though she had no idea where the tornado went.

She looked around the rooms, there were cages against the walls, chains coming out of random corners. _What the finch..._ Eleanor walked up the one the cages, looking inside. She couldn't find a flashlight so she brought her face up close so it was leaning against the bars. She stared into the cage long enough that she noticed something in the cage.

"Hello?" She was left with silence. She moved her face from the bars when something came at her. It was a person, but it sure didn't look like one. Elle jumped back at the movement and fell backward onto the cold ground. The creature was growling and drawing his hands at her. Eleanor was in shock that she just kept her focus on the creature. She finally got herself out of the stare and walked away from the cage.

 _Whatever those things are, I'm not going anywhere near those cages again_. She continued to walk around the building. She found some used clothes, a flashlight, food and water, and a backpack. She also found a full weapon room with guns and knives. Jackpot. She grabbed two knives, a gun and a bunch of ammo. She didn't know what else was in the building, so she had to be prepared. She continued to observe the building when she found a balcony. It viewed glass windows at eye level that had a large dune that had an entrance from a broken window. She sighed, remembering how lonely she was in this place. She really wanted to find her friends. She missed them.

She found a room with a decent enough cot to sleep in and got herself comfortable. Elle's thoughts from the balcony came back which caused tears to fill her eyes. She couldn't hold it in anyone so she sobbed until there were no more. She was tired of everything the had happened to her. The split of her group, Lilly, WICKED, everything. She was done.

 _Tomorrow, I'll go searching, I will find them again._ She made the promise, and let sleep take over her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you like this and let me know what you think!!!


	4. chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's here ;)

_"Elle come here!! It's Ivy!!" Elle was working with the Healers and turned to see the girl laying on the ground near the Maze doors._

_"What the hell happened?" Elle asked not directly toward someone particular. She examined the girl, she was shaking with her breaths, grasping for as much air as possible. The girl closed her eyes, going unconscious. For the moment that Eleanor was looking at her, she'd grown paler since when she first came over._

_"She...she got stung. We were doing our normal route when we approached a Killer, it was sleeping soundly until Ivy tripped over a vine and fell. We tried to get away, but it shot her." Her Tracker partner, Jewel explained, bringing her attention to the now unconscious girl._

_Elle sighed. The Core Girls never usually experienced events like this. But when they do, Elle didn't like the outcome. The Girls have been in the Core for just under two years. Thankfully, they've gone through only two sting incidents, this one being the third._

_Bring her to the Healers. Give her some of the pain medication. We'll see looks in a few hours." Two girls come and picked Ivy up and carried her to the Healer Hut. "When are they gonna give us something for this," Elle mumbled under her breath._

_The group dispersed, leaving Sonya and Elle near the doors. Sonya put her hand on her shoulder. "Hey, let's try to be hopeful about her. I know how much you care." She walked away, going back to her job as a Gardener._

_~~~~_

_Hours passed and Ivy woke up twice. She almost broke one of the Healer's arms when they tried to hold her down. Eleanor knew what she had to do to her, but she didn't know when._

_Elle went in to visit her, she was sleeping peacefully. She walked to her bed and sat by her feet. "I really wish I could save you, Ivy. You deserve so much better." Tears fell from her eyes though she quickly moved them away when the door to the hut opened._

_"You know, I wish I could save her too." Elle turned to see Bry leaning against the door. "She is a strong Tracker. I like to think her body is immune. Just maybe not immune to this..." Her voice trailed off. Silence filled the hut until Ivy suddenly jolted up._

_"IT'S NOT SAFE HERE. WE HAVE TO LEAVE. WE NEED A WAY OUT." Her eyes were widened as she gasped for air. "Ivy, Ivy. It's okay." Bry said, trying to soothe her. Ivy pushed her arms away and swung her legs over the bed. She stood up and pushed through the two girls._

_"Where are you going? We need you back in bed." Elle said, holding her arm._

_"Oh really? Or are you just preparing yourself to kill me? Elle, I know how this goes. You can't just leave me in that damn cage and wait for the right moment to kill me. If you want to, just kill me now." Elle stared straight right into Ivy's eyes. The Tracker knew what was coming...death._

_"N-n..no. No. I can't do that to you Ivy." Eleanor was on the break of tears. Ivy broke from Elle's hold and grabbed the knife that was used for bandages. She held it in her hand finding her grip._

_"Elle, if you won't do it, I will." It was in a matter of seconds before she stabbed herself with the knife. She did it in such a swift movement that there was no way for Eleanor nor Bry to stop her._

_"IVY NO!" Bry and Elle said in sync as they rushed to the now, dead, girl._

Eleanor jumped out of her slumber. It was just a dream...no, a memory. She put her face in her hands, wishing she didn't recall the memory. It made her worry about the girls. Eleanor knew that they would be okay, they were all together of course. She laid her head back on the pillow hoping she would fall back asleep, but it didn't work.

She sighed, finally getting out of the merely breaking cot. She was tying her shoes until she heard a loud thump from outside the room.

"Oh, crap." Elle grabbed a gun and walked out of the room. She glanced around seeing no one in sight, knowing that it was her queue to keep looking. Elle nearly approached the balcony when she saw a flashlight in her direction. She quickly moved back to a corner. She turned her head just enough to hear the conversations down below.

"Mountain people, that's your plan?" It was a guy with a thick accent, though it had a subtle tone to it. There was something that followed but Elle couldn't hear it.

"Hey guys check this out, Minho give me a light." Minho, Eleanor assumed, flashed the light on the footprints, "someone's been here." _I hope those aren't_ _my_ _footprints and are those crazy creatures._

"Let's look around, maybe someone is still here." One person said. The group scattered, finding more flashlights and searching the building. Elle took this as her chance to see who these people really are.

She went down the makeshift stairs looking around. She held her gun up along with her flashlight. Eleanor didn't know what to expect from these people, so she had to be prepared.

She soon heard the sounds of that creature greeting its guests. "Get back, get back!" A boy said. "Run!" Wait, there's more?! Elle ran down the hallway toward the sound, when she saw that creature was running to the two boys. _Apparently, there are ones that are loose too._

Elle dropped the flashlight and quickly aimed at the creature; she shot it before it got too close. 

"Shuck! What was that?" One asked, trying to catch his breath. Shuck? He was Asian, taller and a bit muscular.

"Don't get your ties in a knot," Elle said, moving in the light. She tried to hide the smirk on her face as she walked to the shocked boys.

"Who-who are you." The other spat out. This one was brunette and shorter than his friend.

"Eleanor, but you can call me Elle. And who are you?" She put her hand on her hip and readjusted her gun.

"I'm Thomas, and this is Minho." The brunette, Thomas, said and pointed to his friend.

"Nice to meet you both. So, do you have any idea what those things are?" Elle said. She needed to figure out who and what those things were.

"I have no idea. We haven't seen anything like that since the Glade." Said Minho, who began to look around the room.

"The Glade?" Elle asked curiously.

"Yeah, we were surrounded by walls with Grievers inside. You probably have no idea what we've been through." Thomas said.

"Wait you said you were surrounded by walls right?" Elle asked. She thought about what he had just said. _We weren't the only ones._

"Yeah, why?"

"Holy shit..." Elle mumbled under her breath, breaking eye contact, "well I guess you weren't the only ones who were stuck in a Maze then."

"You're kidding-" Thomas started but was cut off.

"Look what I found!" Minho called out from across the room, turning on a switch. The lights flickered on filling the whole building. There was a loud bang that followed. They all looked to the direction of the sound which was a creature running straight at Minho.

"Minho behind you!" Elle called out. He turned around, seeing the crank running toward him.

"Shuck!" He met up with the two and they bolted away. There was soon a huge group running at them. "I know a way out, followed me!!" Elle said moving in the direction of the exit.

"Wait, we have friends here still!" Thomas said, changing the route. "We have to be quick then Thomas, they're coming up close," Elle said, turning around to see the massive group chasing at their tail. The three went down a hallway that eventually met up with Thomas's group.

"Guys run!" Thomas looked back to the creatures and began moving his arms, "come on! We have to go!" They looked fairly confused. Half was why there was a random girl, the other why they needed to run. It wasn't until the group of creatures turned the corner and was running toward them was when Thomas's group realized why they were running.

"Go, go, go!" Yelled Minho as they caught up to the group. "Elle lead the way!" The group, that was soon found by Elle was mainly boys, didn't know what the do but they had no choice. It was Elle's way or fresh meat for the creatures.

Eleanor was breathing hard and pumping her arms. She couldn't let the group down now. Even if she splits with them afterward, she wanted to make sure they go out. 

They ran through the hallways and reached the stairs. "Come on!" Elle said, moving them along. _We have to make it._ She climbed it and turned to see that one of the boys had a crank on top of them. Elle stopped for a second and was about to get her gun out but Thomas pushed it off.

"Thanks Tommy," said the boy. _So this is the guy with the thick accent._

Ignoring the thought, Elle got back to reality and continued running. They all made it up the stairs and ran down another hallway. Minho caught up to her and was running side by side. 

"How much more?" He asked, panting.

"Not much. But for now I need you to keep going. Just turn the corner and go the double doors. I'll catch up in a second." She said, turning into her room.

"Elle wait!" He called and slowed down. "Keep going! Go the way I told you. I need you to trust me!" Eleanor said, grabbing her pack and sprinting out the room to the group. 

While she ran, a gun shot had barely missed her head. "Hey! I'm not a creature!" Elle called to the group. 

"Elle!" Called Thomas, "Winston watch where you're shooting, she's helping us." 

The boy, Winston, sighed and avoided Eleanor as he shot. 

 Elle came to a stop at the doors and saw that two of the boys were trying to get the door open.  

"Eleanor, where did you go? We thought you ditched us." Thomas wondered. 

"Doesn't matter, but we need to hurry." she said, bringing her attention back to the group of chasing creatures. 

"I got this guys!" The larger darker skinned boy slammed into the door and got it open. 

"Nice Frypan!" said a boy. 

"Elle you go first, we need you to lead." Thomas said holding the door. She went and started to run. A couple followed but then stopped which made Elle worry. Winston was stuck in the door being held back by the creatures. 

"Winston!" One called. They rushed back and helped the others pull him out.

"Aghhhh!" He cried in pain as the creatures ripped through his stomach. 

"Keep pulling!" They pulled him out 

They ran down the final hallway, leading out into the Scorch. Eleanor personally had no idea where to go next, so she ran until she found a hiding spot. They ran through the abandoned city, trying to stay out of sight. 

"Down here!" Elle called the group. She lead them to into a hole far enough from the creatures. They were still close, close enough that they could still hear the calls of them. Their pleads went on for hours waiting for their prey to come out into the open. All that came out from the group was the sounds of their breathing. They knew they were safe by the time the sounds died out. 

"Okay guys, time to get some rest." Said Minho, getting himself comfortable. 

"Wait hold up," said the boy with the accent, "I want to know who she is." He pointed to Eleanor sitting next him. 

Elle froze. She completely forgot that they didn't know she was. "Oh-I-" 

"That's Eleanor, we found her, well she found us, when that thing attacked us the first time." Thomas finished her answer. Elle relaxed, knowing that he did it for her. 

"Nice to meet me Eleanor. I'm Newt. " He smiled, though Elle could see it from the dim flashlight, "Let me introduce the rest of the group for you. Behind me is Frypan, Aris and Winston,"  _Aris. Why does that sound so familiar?_ Elle ignored the thought, thinking it was nothing. "Next to Tommy is Teresa. And I see you already met those two shanks." He said pointing to Thomas and Minho.

"Yeah, I have. " She chuckled at the statement,  "Nice to meet you all." Though some of the were half asleep, they gave her warm welcomes and went back to sleep. 

Newt said something that Elle didn't catch, she was too busy observing his features since he was only one she could see in the dim light. He had blond hair and a scar on his left cheek right underneath his eye. There was something about Newt that made her think of her past, before the Core. She didn't know what though.

"Earth to Elle!" Newt said as he waved his hand in front of her face, "you know it's rude to stare. You're better off doing it if I'm asleep. Goodnight Eleanor." Elle hid her face at the comment, embarrassed that he caught her staring at him. _Nice job at a first impression._ She rubbed her face, trying to get herself relaxed, but didn't work. She laid down on her back and looked at the stone above her.

"Goodnight." Elle said. She closed her eyes and pretended to go to sleep. She wasn't tired. After all that running, she had a lot on her mind. Could she trust these guys? She had no idea, she had just met them. But it's better off than being alone in the Scorch. So she might as well stay if they let her. 

Once she realized that everyone went to sleep, she open her eyes and stared up at the stone for a while until a voice called to her attention. 

"You know, pretending to sleep isn't going to help you in any way." She turned her head to see Newt looking at her. 

She turned her head back to the stone and sighed. "I know, I just have a lot on my mind."

"Care to share?" He asked, curious to hear the stories of the new girl. 

"Well, as you know,  you found me alone in the building. Before I arrived there, I was separated from my friends from the Core in the Scorch in a storm." She explained briefly. She didn't really want to share her thoughts to her new friend, but she needed to let her thoughts out somehow. 

"The Core? Sounds like an apple." He chuckled at the joke. 

"Oh shush." she waved her hand at the boy, "it was the place where me and thirty other girls were stuck in surround by a maze. I was there longer than others, technically the first one."

It took a minute before he responded, taking in what she said. "Hold on, were you stuck in a place surrounded by walls? Were there Grievers?" 

She sighed, "Yes, but we called them Killers." 

"I can't believe it. I guess we weren't the only ones." His face was in complete shock. Newt couldn't believe what he heard. 

"Guess not." This made Elle give a saddened look, though it was hidden from Newt's view. 

"So, did you escape WICKED too?" He sat up, looking at Elle from above.

"Yep, probably before you came though. Only a couple stayed." 

"I think we've met one of them." He said, turning and looking at one of the boys sleeping.

Elle sat up too, looking straight at Newt. "Wait what?" _Could there really be someone else here?_

"Aris, he said he came from another Maze, just like you did." 

Eleanor froze, again. She couldn't believe it. He actually is alive. _So that's why he sounded familiar._ "Finch..." she mumbled, "where is he?" This part he heard.

"He's over there, but you should probably wait till morning to have your reunion." He smiled, knowing that he helped create a reunion. 

_He's alive. He's actually alive._

"Well, I'm going to get some sleep if you aren't.  Goodnight Eleanor." He laid back down on his 

"Goodnight Newt." Elle laid back down and continued to stare at the stone above her, waiting for sleep to take over herself. 

~~~~

"Hey! Get out of here! Shoo!" Thomas yelled at the bird who was picking a his pack. Elle had a ponding headache as she sat up, watching Thomas push the bird away. 

"Morning Eleanor." He said, standing up.

"Morning." She got up, opening up her pack and opening her water bottle. _Another day in the Scorch. Yippee._ She rolled her eyes at the thought. At least she wasn't alone this time. She put down her bottle, remembering something that Newt told her last night.  _Wait, Aris. He's here._

Elle got up and rushed over to Aris. She flicked his forehead, hoping that it would wake him up. "What the..." he started, covering his face from the sun. 

"Hey, Blondie." Elle said with a huge grin on her face. 

"Elle!" Aris jumped and hugged her. "You're alive." 

Elle smiled and giggled, "Yeah... I am." 

They separated apart, the two of them still with huge grins on their faces. Though, Aris's fell when he realized that she was alone. "Where are the rest of the Girls?" 

Elle's expression dropped, "I lost them in a storm. They have each other though I'm sure." 

"Eleanor, you know him?" Minho asked.

"We were in the Core, or what you called the Glade, together. This stick somehow got inside an all girls place." She laughed and her grin came back, messing up Aris's hair and moving back toward her pack.

"Come on guys, we gotta get moving." Said Thomas, bringing everything back into reality again. 

Once everyone was ready, they began to walk in the abandon city. The city was filled with abandoned buildings and streets. Everything was broken down and deserted. There wasn't one living thing in the city, besides those things they met. No one sane. 

"What the hell happened to this place?" Frypan asked. 

"I don't know, doesn't look like anyone has been here in a long time." Newt replied staring up at the broken down buildings. Elle stared at the one building closest to her. This one was half broken apart, mold and mildew covered the outside. She never liked this place. Not one bit. They walked in a straight line, though Thomas suddenly stopped and let everyone pass. He was listening the sounds from above. "Woah, stop. Do you hear that?" 

The sounds of helicopters filled the area. Elle soon realized what those sounds were too.  _Shit the  berg._ "Guys hide!" Elle called. They all rushed into the area that was hidden from above. They watched the helicopters and berg fly over them. 

"They won't stop looking for us, will they?" Minho asked once they were out of sight. 

Elle replied, "Guess not." 


	5. chapter four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *TRIGGER WARNING: There are some gory details in this scene, please read with caution if this is sensitive to you.*

 

"I think the coast is clear, let's move." Said Thomas. Elle assumed he was the leader of this group she just joined.

The continue to walk throughout the city, climbing on the rubble of what's left of buildings. The injured boy, Winston, wasn't do so well. He had a bandage around his waist which was covered in blood. Eleanor felt bad for the boy. They must have escaped WICKED thinking they were free to now getting ripped up by cranks. It makes Elle's stomach turn.

She stops in her tracks and moves down the pile of rubble down to the hill. "You alright?" She asks to him. He nodded his head though almost tripping over himself. Elle caught his fall and guided him the rest of the climb up. Elle put his arm, the one not on the bandage, around her neck and her arm carefully around his waist.

"T-thank you. You didn't have to help me." He choked out when they reached the top, "you should catch up with the rest of the group. I'll be fine from here." She smiled in her return and speeded up toward the group.

After that climb, it was sand and more sand. There were dunes all over and no shade to be found. _Guess this will be a long walk._ They approached one in front of them and began to walk up. It was tough for Elle, she was never a tracker so she wasn't prepared for this. She fell behind a bit climbing up, also tripping just as she reached the top. She fell forward bracing for impact of the sand but instead fell in the arms of someone.

"You okay there, love?" Newt was the one to catch her. Elle nodded, "thank you," she whispered.  He guided her back to her feet. "Anytime," he smiled back at her response. From the minute Elle met the group, she felt some kind of the connection to them, Newt in particular, though she didn't know what it was.  As usual, she just brushed it off thinking it was some crap that WICKED put in her head.

The group could now see the whole view of the Scorch from the top. It was pretty in Elle's eyes, but her expression showed otherwise. She couldn't believe that this might have been her home before the Core, which disgusted her a bit, knowing now that it's covered in dust.

When someone spoke up, it brought her attention back from wanting to hate WICKED even more. "There's mountains that's gotta be it. That's where we're going." _Mountains? Why the mountains?_

"That's a long way from here." Newt commented. "Well we gotta get moving then." Thomas said back. _Guess we’re going to the mountains._ As they took their first steps Winston fell from the top of the dune onto the sand on the other side. "Winston!" The group called. "He's getting weaker," Elle mumbled. She hasn't experienced anything like this before. She wanted to help as much as possible.

Two boys combined their packs together to make a stretcher for Winston to lay on as they climbed up another dune. The group was scattered along the hill. Thomas leading of course. Elle walked along the dunes alone, but she liked the silence. It gave her time to think about everything. She missed her friends from the Core and she hoped that they were doing okay. Remembering they were all together, Elle felt better again. Her alone time soon ended when Teresa, the only girl in the group, came up to her.

"Hey, I'm Teresa. I don't think we've met before." She said with a smile.

"I'm Elle, nice to meet you too." She was glad to talk to someone that wasn't a boy for once. She was used to having only one boy, but 6 others was plenty.

"So, were you part of WICKED? What brought you to here?" She asks. Elle expected the questions since she randomly came in. But the WICKED question surprised her.

"Oh, no I wasn't. I was part of all girl group in the Core for three years, which was called your Glade. And my group also escaped WICKED and made into the Scorch, same positions we're in. But I got split up from mine in a storm." She broke eye contact and looked at the sand in front of her. Eleanor predicts that she might be saying this story a couple times more.

"I'm sorry that happened. I'm glad you found us though. I would rather be with these guys than alone in the Scorch." She chuckled at the last part which made Elle join along too. The two went their separate ways, Teresa went up a bit when Elle stayed back.

They completed another hill and was left with flat land for a couple miles. The wind had began to pick up so the sand and dust was all in their faces. Elle brought her sheet up to her face to cover the sand. She wrapped it over her head and on the sides of her face. It didn't do much to her belief, but it helped.

They had to find shelter soon, before it was too late. Elle went up the closest person who wasn't carrying Winston, suggesting her idea.

"We need to find a place away from the storm!" She called through the wind. She looked around but all she could see what sand. The boy she talked to grabbed her arm and pointed toward a shaded area covered by rubble.

"Over there!" He called, accent picking out. _Newt._ He turned back and pointed toward the area he told Elle and the two began to lead them to it.

They made it to the area and were finally free of the sand in their faces. Elle sat down against the stone near her and let out a sigh. She was happy to sit again.

"How's is it going newbie?" Minho said as he handed her a water bottle. She smiled but pushed his bottle away. Her face scrunched when she heard the strange word. "Oh right. Since you're the considered "new" girl, you're the newbie to us. And drink." She took in the words he said, remembering that must have been a term in the Glade. He put the bottle in her hands. Elle wanted to refuse, but she badly needed it. She handed the bottle back, making sure she didn't drink too much. "Much better?" She nodded, showing a smile. He walked back to where Newt and Frypan were sitting.

Elle turned her head and watched Winston. At his state, Elle knew he wasn't going to make it. She hated watching those she loved die. Besides that she met him a day ago, she hated watching him die. If she didn't go back for her back, maybe he could have lived. But she couldn't let that burden her. It happened and she can't change it.

She looked up from Winston to Aris who locked eye contact with her. He smiled knowing that she was back with him. Aris was like a brother to Elle. She cared about him a lot since was the only boy in the Core. "Are you okay?" He mouthed to her. She nodded. She was tired, very tired. She didn't have enough water left to last for a while. She wished sleep to take over her, but she had to stay awake...for her friends.

Aris walked over to Elle and sat next to her. Elle stared at the ground, she didn't have much energy.  "What's up? The Eleanor I know is always working and not usually sitting practically asleep." He chuckled and poked her arm that made her rock side to side. "I'm okay really... just tired that's all. I'm not used to all  the running and climbing." She lifted her head and gave a slight smile. "Take it easy, alright? No more crazy adventures for you." He patted her shoulder and walked back to his pack.

Sleep was finally ready to take over Eleanor, but it was lost when Winston started to throw up. "Winston!" Minho called running over to him. He puked up black liquid for a minute or two continuously. Elle put her arm on the stone she was against and tried to stand up. She leaned up on it and tried to get herself to stand and walk over. She was _that_ close to him. Eleanor wanted to help. Just as she got her balance, Winston grabbed the gun next as he was upright and tried to shoot himself. Minho pushed the gun out of his hands as the shot went off.  Instead of hitting Winston it went in Elle's direction. She ducked and landed with her back hard against the stone.

"Winston put the gun down!" The gun was flung out of his hands on onto the sand near him. He laid his back onto the sand again as he laying down before. "Just let me die." He pleaded. Newt, the closest guy near Elle, went over to her to see if was okay. "I'm okay, don't worry. It's understandable." She said before Newt could open his mouth. Newt was in shock with what she said. "I can explain later." She gave him a pat on the shoulder, just like Aris did her, and stumbled over to Winston.

She crouched down in front of him and looked at his bandage. She gave a glance to see if it was okay to remove the bandage. He nodded back to her and she carefully removed the bandage off of his body. "It's getting worse." He said, "Please." Elle knew what was best, although she hated it. She brought her head up to the others, looking for their opinion. Some said no, some said yes.   Eleanor stood up and put her hand to her mouth. She or the others had to do it, or himself.

Out of nowhere, Newt went to the gun on the sand and crouched down to Winston. "Hey Newt." Thomas said to him, trying to stop him. Newt put the gun the boy's hands right where his heart was. "Thank you. Now get out of here." He said, ready for what's coming. "Goodbye Winston." Newt stood up, grabbed his pack and began to walk. Elle was already in tears. She had just met the boy, but he didn't deserve to die like this. She was never good with deaths in the first place. Ever since the first incident, ever since Ivy, ever since Lily. Aris touched her shoulder to let her know it was time to leave. She grabbed her pack and followed the group.

Elle's cries turned into soft muffles. She had to be strong, not just for the people around her, but herself. The group walked in a straight line on a long strip of sand when the shot was fired. Everyone stopped in their places. _He's gone._ Another one to join Lily. He'll take care of her as well as the other girls that have left Elle's side.

~~~~~

They found a place to stay in the ruins of old wood and made a fire. The group sat around the fire trying to keep warm during the cold night. Elle laid down on her pack along the sand. She was ready for sleep, no doubt.

"I thought all of us were immune." Minho started.

"Not all of us." Said Teresa. "If Winston can get infected, we can assume the rest of us can." Newt followed.

Elle's face was tear stained from her tears hours ago. She was ready to cry more honestly. This reminds her of all the girls she missed. She rubs her face with her hands, covering her face from the tears falling from her face.

"I'd never thought I'd say it...but I miss the glade." Frypan said out in the open. Elle moved her hands from her face and sat up. She couldn't have agreed more. It was peaceful, for the most part. Everything was in order. There were little setbacks here and there, but there were able to be defeated. The thing is that keeps her from not wanting to go back is the feeling of being trapped. She hated that too.

"I bet you do too, Elle. From that Core you came from." said Newt, rubbing her shoulder. He hasn't spoken much to her since their talk after the crank attack, so it was nice to have some sympathy.

"Yeah I do, but sometimes I don't. I lost a lot of my close friends just like Winston. We just have to be aware that this virus is deadly, very deadly." She pauses, giving this her chance this question. "And what's in the mountains that you all have been saying."

"The Right Arm. They're a resistance against WICKED. So we're hoping they can help us defeat them. Have you heard of them?" Thomas responded to her question. Elle had no idea what this Right Arm is.

"Never. But they sound pretty badass to me to be worth searching for." She puts her elbows on her knees, intrigued in the conversation.

"I hope so. They're all we have left."


End file.
